ARTIST NEWS

Star violinist Chang keeps her flair fresh

It is hard to believe when a virtuoso makes a world debut at 8 years of age that almost 30 years later they still have the ability to bring new life, light, and enchantment to yet another audience. That Sarah Chang still has “the gift” was readily apparent in last evening’s Toledo Symphony Classics Concert.On the platform Maestro Giordano Bellincampi leads from the heart, and clearly the symphony members find in his passion verisimilitude. They responded to his direction with nuance, sensitivity, and a willingness to take artistic risks. Clearly he has become one of their favorite guest conductors.The program opened with Stravinsky’s complexly intricate ballet suite Pulcinella based on melodies by Pergolesi (and others). The chamberlike score received a clean performance from a reduced ensemble of Symphony players. From a slightly timid beginning it moved forward to dance with a terpsichorean lightness that belied the underlying difficulty of the score.Chang joined the ensemble for an impassioned rendition of Tomaso Antonio Vitali’s “Chaconne.” The performance was riveting, demonstrating both her technical prowess and her clear understanding of line, movement, and energy. The work was exquisitely sculpted into an ever-growing effulgence that crept steadily forward toward a transfixing conclusion. Read the rest of the review here